Contest Your Assessed Value

The Assessment Appeals Board (AAB) is independent agency (separate from the Office of the Assessor-Recorder). It is appointed by the Board of Supervisors. The role of the AAB is to equalize the valuation of the taxable property within the City and County of San Francisco. You may file a formal appeal with the AAB during the July 2 to September 15, filing period.

Below is a step-by-step process for taxpayers to file an application with the Assessment Appeals Board.

Obtain, complete, and return an Assessment Appeal Application from the Assessment Appeals Board of San Francisco by the due date. The form can be found by visiting the Assessment Appeals Board website, calling (415) 554-6778 or visiting their office at 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, City Hall, Room 405, San Francisco, CA 94102.

Include a non-refundable administrative processing fee along with the original signed application and a check made payable to CCSF to:

An assessment appeal can be filed by the property owner or the owner's spouse, parents, or children, or any person directly responsible for payment of the property taxes; this person becomes the Applicant. An application may also be filed by an authorized agent. If an application is filed by an agent - other than a California licensed attorney - an Agent Authorization form, signed by the applicant, is required (see Forms/Attachments tab for form).

Obtain, complete, and return an Assessment Appeal Application from the Assessment Appeals Board of San Francisco. The San Francisco Assessment Appeals Board does not accept versions of the form from other counties or the State Board of Equalization. Completed applications must be postmarked on or before the deadline date to be considered as timely filed.

Applications for a formal appeal must be filed between July 2 and September 15. If September 15th falls on a Saturday or Sunday, applications postmarked on the next business day shall be considered timely.

If a notice of assessment was never received, then a tax bill will be used as the first instrument that reflects an assessment adjustment. The application must be accompanied by a Penalty of Perjury Declaration stating that no notice was received.

Yes. If your property qualifies for an informal review and you are not satisfied with the decision by our office – a Notice of Assessed Value Letter will be mailed to you by the end of July informing you of our value decision – you may file a formal appeal with the Assessment Appeals Board between the dates of July 2 and September 15. Additional information can be found by visiting www.sfbos.org.

The Assessor is required to enroll the lesser of your factored base year value (assessed value) or the market value. For example, if the market value of your property (what you could sell your house for) as of January 1 is $500,000 and your assessed value is $200,000, the Assessor would enroll the $200,000 as your taxable value for that tax year only. (For more information, see the Notice of Assessed Value Fact Sheet under the Forms/Attachments tab.)

You will need to submit sales information and/or an appraisal performed by a licensed real estate appraiser to support your claim. The sales information or appraisal’s date of valuation should be as close to the January 1 lien date as possible, but no later than March 31.

No. The reduction is temporary and only applies to the tax year being appealed. Any reduction to the assessed value is automatically reviewed annually as of the lien date to determine if market conditions indicate that the assessed value should be maintained, lowered, or increased.

Unlike residential condominiums and cooperative units, TICs do not have separate parcel numbers. A review of a single TIC unit is more complex. TIC owners can appeal their property assessed values by filing an Application for Changed Assessment with the Assessment Appeals Board beginning July 2 through September 15 of every year.

About Us

The mission of our office is to work together to build a better San Francisco through superior customer service, fair property taxation and the preservation of public records. We value doing our work with the highest levels of integrity and professionalism.

Our core responsibilities include locating all taxable property in the City and County of San Francisco (CCSF), identifying ownership, establishing a taxable value, and applying all legal exemptions.